(Photo from Norris Bookbinding Company)
- In a state known for storytelling, it feels fitting that one of Mississippi’s most meaningful businesses isn’t about writing new stories—but about making sure the old ones are never lost.
There are places in Mississippi where time doesn’t rush you. Where history isn’t tucked behind glass or sealed away in archives, but still shows up every morning for work. Where stories aren’t just told—they’re repaired, rebound, and sent back into the world to keep living.
One of those places sits quietly in the Mississippi Delta, in Greenwood, inside a small white building you could easily pass without realizing what’s happening inside.
That building is home to Norris Bookbinding Company, the world’s largest operation dedicated to rebinding and restoring Bibles and rare books. It’s the kind of place you might miss if you didn’t know to look for it.
From the outside, it’s unassuming. Modest. Familiar in the way so many Delta buildings are. But step inside, and you quickly realize this isn’t just a business. It’s a place where memory, craftsmanship, and faith intersect—where pages worn thin by time are given new strength without losing their soul.
Norris Bookbinding was founded in 1947 by Mr. and Mrs. H.H. Norris in Greenwood. What began in a small concrete block building grew carefully over time, with additions made as the work expanded—but it never left its original neighborhood. Nearly eight decades later, the company still operates in that same Greenwood community, now housed in the small white building locals recognize today.
The business originally focused on library and commercial rebinding. However, Mr. Norris had experience repairing Bibles, and he didn’t take long to recognize something more profound. People weren’t just bringing in damaged books—they were bringing in pieces of their lives.
These were family Bibles filled with handwritten notes. Wedding dates. Births and deaths. Sermons underlined and reread. Large pulpit Bibles were once opened every Sunday. Volumes that couldn’t simply be replaced, no matter how many new editions existed.
So Norris Bookbinding leaned into Bible repair and restoration.
Word spread beyond Greenwood, then beyond Mississippi. Other binderies began sending work their way. Publishers took notice and referred customers directly. Before long, packages were arriving from all 50 states—and eventually from more than 30 foreign countries—all bound for that quiet Delta workshop.
After Mr. Norris’ death, the business was incorporated, and in the early 1990s, longtime craftsmen Charles Sproles and his brother Johnny Sproles purchased Norris Bookbinding from the Norris family. Together, they brought decades of hands-on experience and a shared belief that quality work and satisfied customers would speak louder than any advertisement.
That philosophy carried the business forward. Johnny Sproles has since passed, but his craftsmanship and influence remain woven into the work itself.
Under Charles’s leadership, Norris Bookbinding grew into the nation’s largest Bible rebinding and repair company. Even now, Charles remains a vital part of the operation, still working with his hands and restoring old Bibles and books with the same care that built the business.
Today, the company is run by Charles’ children, siblings Gib Sproles and Stephanie Sproles, who continue that legacy with the same commitment to craft and service. This story is told from the perspective of Gib Sproles, who grew up in the business and now helps lead it forward.
Charles is now 90 years old, and if you stop by Norris Bookbinding, there’s a good chance you’ll see him there.
“Retiring has never really been in my dad’s agenda,” Gib said with a chuckle.
Over the years, the shop has restored far more than Bibles. Old school annuals—often surprisingly valuable—come through the doors, along with history books, military books, geography books, cookbooks, student dissertations, and theses. Each item represents a chapter of someone’s life, carefully preserved.
Still, Gib is candid about what keeps the doors open.
“If it weren’t for the Bibles, we would have gone out of business a long time ago,” he said.
Today, Norris Bookbinding restores and rebinds around 300 Bibles each month. The oldest book they’ve worked on to date is a pulpit Bible from the 1600s—handled carefully, respectfully, and returned to service centuries after it was first opened.
What sets Norris Bookbinding apart, Gib explains, is the expertise they’ve developed over time.
“We’ve learned and developed ways to amend and restructure Bibles in a way that sets us apart from other binders,” he said. “We consider ourselves experts at taking a Bible and getting it back to new.”
And “new” doesn’t mean erasing its past. It means strengthening it so it can keep going.
Most of us have a Bible we didn’t choose casually. It was given to us at a baptism, a wedding, or a graduation. It holds notes that only we understand. Large family Bibles passed down through generations don’t just contain Scripture—they contain a family’s story.
You can’t replace that.
But you can restore it.
And for more than 70 years, that’s exactly what has been happening inside that small white building in Greenwood, Mississippi. Quietly. Faithfully. Patiently.
In a state known for storytelling, it feels fitting that one of Mississippi’s most meaningful businesses isn’t about writing new stories—but about making sure the old ones are never lost.
Meredith Biesinger
